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_ October 1980 50p (U.S.A. & Canada $2.25) uap> MODEL MAGAZINE Our MYA Correspondent reports on events at home > and abroad SRS GRAYS SSASBANN|S AES S | S S N x N SS CA SRA SSF RASA AA SS SON AAS SS SSS Left, Tim Fuller, top of the British skippers in the IMYRU World Champs RM class with his carbon fibre 247. Right, Wally Jones launches \pi Tombi at the A Champs on his way to a popular win. 6. Manny Costa USA USA 7. Gerry Trahan USA 8. John Hemmalin USA 9. Carter Cain Canada 10. Jeff May Racing seemed to be somewhat different from the customary way of doing things. For exam- HE IMYRU World R/C Championships in Ottawa have only just finished as copy date for this issue approaches, but Dave Hollom was kind enough to pass on results which he’d tele- phoned to obtain, and a couple of comments have already fed back along the grapevine. A report must wait for fuller information, but results were: RM 1. Blair Van Koughett 2. Terry Allen 3. Francois Foussard 4. Tadashi Kato 5. Charles Black 6. Ned Wagner 7. Tim Fuller 8. Squire Kay 9. Chris Dicks 10. Allan Gardner 11. Barry Jackson 12. Richie Wagner R10R Canada USA France Japan USA USA England England England Canada England USA 1. Squire Kay 2. Terry Allen 3. Barry Jackson 4. Allan Fish 5. John Arnen 6. Bob Sterne 7. Tetsuo Takahashi 8. Masami Umebayahi 9. Rich Matt 10. Ron Gould England USA England Australia USA Canada Japan Japan USA USA John Cleave Henry Morris George Wilkins Chris Jensen Don Biggins England USA Canada USA USA EC 12M 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 622 ple, the RM entry was divided into fleets and each boat only sailed in its own fleet, not against any boats from other sections, except for the 12 top yachts, which formed the ‘Gold Fleet’ (listed above) and sailed a separate race on the final day (part of a day, actually) which decided the Championship. Presumably the same system was used for the other two classes. Sailing was also much slower than the Europeans are used to, one heat per half hour being the fastest pace achieved. However, more details when more of the story is known. A Class Championships Gosport saw a very successful weeks sailing, with very reasonable weather, although the wind never quite managed to blow straight up and down the lake; most of the time it stayed south-westerly, over the corner, where unfortunately a large temporary mound of soil perhaps 25ft high created some interesting eddies. There were 33 boats, 15 of them Lo/lipops, though by Tuesday evening the leading boat was Keith Armour’s Stollery-designed Daddy Long Pig, which therefore represented England in the International sailed on Wednesday morning. Five countries were represented (the others were Denmark, France, Holland and Scotland) and the result was in the balance until the last board, when the English boat clinched victory from the Dutch. Somewhat surprisingly, Keith then dropped out of contention, leaving Lo//ipops to take four of the top six places. Popular winner Wally Jones received a standing ovation at the prizegiving; he first raced in the Championships 47 years ago, was 2nd in 1934 and 1936 and several times since, won once with Aragorn (1967, from memory) and, in Model Boats in 1975, confessed the ambition of winning another championship before his legs gave out! On this occasion the legs lasted but veteran mate Bill Poole had a spot of bother, though recovered now, we hope. Runner-up was the Eric Carter/Clive Colsell Lollipop Gunslinger, 3rd Ken Butler with an elegant Sykes lightweight (39lb), 4th Dick Sea- ger sailing Wocanido, a Lollipop, 5th Roy Gardner, another Lo//ipop and 6th G. Bantock with his o.d. Please note that this listing is based on a conversation and not the official results list. Neither Roger Stollery nor Alex Austin, whose Lollipops were 1st and 3rd in 1978 and 1979, were able to enter this year, and Chris Dicks, 2nd Revolution, with ner in those years and twice win was in Ottawa. Full report in next issue. Down Under A mention in passing by Mark Rundell of the Wellington MYC in New Zealand illustrated some of the difficulties facing further-flung enthusiasts: the cost of sending an entrant to Ottawa would have been in excess of £1,250, which, as Mark says, makes international competiton expensive. The Wellington club, with 26 members, is into RMs with Genies, 247s and Outlaws plus two NZ designs, Frenzy and Zeta; the current NZ champion sails a Frenzy. Any photos or details of these boats? There is always interest in what other enthusiasts have developed, and we can all learn something from any boat. Model Boats Magazine Trophy, August 3rd This trophy was presented by this magazine to the New Forest RCMYC, for RM racing, and this year was sailed for at Woodley, organised by New Forest and Danson clubs, with a little help from Norman and Margaret Curtis, whose house just happens to back on to the Woodley lake! There were 21 entrants from 5 clubs; the day was mostly cloudy with a stiff breeze which tended to be split by a clump of high trees on the far side, giving changes of direction and a sheltered patch which at times saw one boat crawling while only feet away another was showing signs of planing. Sailing was brisk, with four seven-boat races an hour achieved without any pressure, and close, with the finishing order only settled in the last heat. Top ten were: 1. 2. Tim Fuller Tony Owens New Forest Danson 247 Trapper 2 Model Boats 3. Chris Eagle Chelmsford Trapper 4 4. 5. Vic Cooney Alan Risby Woodley Woodley Trapper 3 Bloodaxe New Forest OD 6.=Ray Belding 9. 10. Norman Curtis Woodley Trapper 4 Rob Owens Jack Richards Ted Croxon Danson Danson Woodley Trapper 4 Trapper 2 Trapper 3 League points earned were Woodley 43, Dan- son 39, New Forest 32, Chelmsford 17 and Chiltern 3. Swing Rig Roger Stollery’s swing rig, in which the main boom encircles the mast and extends forward with the jib boom pivoted on it, has been mentioned and illustrated (e.g. June issue) and has been seen in action by a good few model yachtsmen. What may be a surprise is that it has been effectively demonstrated to a good many full-size yachtsmen as well, with 2nd and 3rd places in two Bembridge Redwing races during Cowes week, in the hands of John Cleave, accompanied on the first occasion by Roger. The Redwing is a delightful Nicholson design of 1936, a 28ft hull of strict one-design but any sort of rig up to 200 sq. ft. John acquired one a few months ago and rigged it to Roger’s design. The only variation was that they allowed themselves to be talked into a tapered mast, and this nearly proved their undoing. Day-boat racing was cancelled on the Tuesday due to really hard winds; it was still blowing pretty hard on Wednesday, and the unstayed mast waved about to the extent that discretion was considered the better part, the main was dropped and they limped back to Cowes, where John did a pierheard jump onto the hovercraft and made his way to the mast suppliers, standing over them while they produced the necessary fittings to support the mast. Back to Cowes, a dawn call, mast out and fittings secured, mast back in and knitting tied up as they went downto theline… It was worth it to come second, and had it not been for a surprise wind shift (commented on by yachting reporters) they could well have won. To show it was no fluke, John sailed to a close third without Roger on the next day. Roger has, incidentally, applied this rig to his Choppa design, with radio control. Nothing remarkable in that, since he’s used it fora couple of years on a Pickaxe RM? Well, only that it works very well and with conventional radio the 12 inch long Choppa weighs about a pound and a half all-on, ready to sail! October 1980 Left, Francis Foussard, 3rd in Ottawa with his 12/b boat, still full of winches, and capable of fast acceleration in puffs of wind. Right, another view of Tim Fuller’s 247, after winning the Model Boats trophy at New Forest. Eastern District RM Team, June 1st A successful and enjoyable event, thanks to OOD Graham Bantock who organised the whole thing from start to finish, in pleasant weather at Dovercourt, this attracted 11 two-boat teams, four from SE Essex, three each from Chelmsford and Broads, and one from Dovercourt, and all 55 races were completed by 4.30. Winning team was Chelmsford B (Chris Eagle and Norman Hatfield) who won all ten of their races, second was SE Essex A (D. Graham, |. Sandison) eight wins, and third Broad’s A (D. Skipper and M. Hammond) seven wins. Multi-Controls Some of the French boats at the recent Dunkirk regatta ran to as many as six functions — controlled backstays, main luff downhaul and main kicking strap, jib twitcher and jib slot adjuster, as well as normal sheeting — and could still come out at 12-14lb, thanks to ultra-light hulls with extensive film-covered deck cut-outs and magnesium alloy fittings drilled out to save every unnecessary gramme. It is noticeable that some British skippers are sawing large holes in their decks and taping Solarfilm over them, which can save several ounces. Weight saved in this way does not necessarily improve performance, but no doubt it can confer a psychological advantage in boosting a skipper’s confidence and there may be a gain in acceleration or speed in certain conditions. In the light winds experienced by most French R/C yachtsmen and on some inland waters in England it may be that a lot of gadgetry gives an advantage but, it is suggested, it will be a sad day for radio sailing if such proliferation catches on. There has already been some discussion on the advisability of banning spinnakers, on the grounds that a successful system is likely to prove expensive; is not the easiest answer to consider establishing ‘limited’ and ‘open’ categories, the former being limited to two radio functions only and the latter to as much compli- cation as one cares to crowd on board? It’s a safe bet as to which would prove the most popular; there is still plenty of scope for improving performance of the yachts themselves without having to enlist the services of a mate with a degree in computer technology. The open category would allow experiment with new electronic devices, and if something worthwhile and inexpensive emerged it would always be possible to extend the limited rules to permit the addition of an extra function. This isn’t an attempt to call a halt to progress, but merely a suggestion to keep costs within bounds. If we reach a situation where sixfunction radio is needed to be competitive, many present skippers would soldier on with their two function gear until they became dis- heartened and then they would drop out of racing; a few would go in for the more expensive equipment, no doubt, but how many beginners would plunge so heavily? 1981 Dates We have been asked about major regatta dates for next year, and the following lists those for which the date has been finalised: M Team April 18/19 Birmingham M Championship May 2-4 A Championship July 25- Leeds & Bradford August1 Fleetwood R10R Championship Sept 12/13 Leicester 10R Championship Sept 26/27 Hove & Brighton Champions Cup Oct 17/18 New Forest Venues but not dates have been agreed for RA (Birmingham), RM (Poole), 6m (Bournville), 36R (Clapham), Little Portugal Cup (Gosport), A Team (Leeds & Bradford), and Model Maker Trophy (Fleetwood). The 1980 AGM, by the way, is on Saturday, December 6th at the Polytechnic, New Cavendish Street, London W1. This is about five minutes walk south from Great Portland Street tube station, and about two blocks east. Mickey Finn National Championship Sufficient of these 36in una rigs are now sailing to make a National Championship entirely feas- ible, and the first wiil be held at Leicester on November 2nd. The OOD’s call will be at 10.00 and racing will start at 10.30, finishing about 5pm. During the lunch break there will be an Owners’ Association meeting to approve rules and appoint officers. Entries close on October 18th, entry £2 to the acting secretary, Ken Shaw, 198 Bramhall Lane, Davenport, Stockport, Cheshire SK3 8TX, who will supply a map to reach the lake, which is actually in Loughborough. Those who haven’t registered their boats can send the registration with their entries. In 1981 a two-day eventis envisaged, and any club willing to host it is invited to advise Ken Shaw. 623 AVING reached October, a month that is usually known for its dull and cold days, outdoor interest reaches a seasonal low, or does it for as these words are being written the weather in the late days of our ‘summer’, perhaps as dull as prospective October ones does not seem to deter the enthusiast very much. Perhaps we can extend the season for cold summers seem to be getting longer and likewise the winters seem not so hard. It will probably be a diabolical year from now on having said that. No matter the fixture list does slow down and disappear for all intents and purposes very shortly. With the exception of the Southern Area Straight Running Championships all major competitions have been resolved. Stanborough Lakes at Welwyn Garden City adjacent to the A1(M) is the venue for this year’s event on the 5th October and the afternoon championships will be proceded in the morning by a club regatta organised by the Welwyn Garden City SME, who are hosting the meeting this year. Apart froma few club regattas this month sees the start of the repair and build season and with lessons XIl Naviga European Sailing Championships 25 July — 2 August Nagykanizsa, Hungary learnt(?) during the past season many new Gi week prior to the events nothing could have been better regarding weather conditions and winds. The lake was marvellous, the disposition very carefully chosen and the surroundings most agreeable. A 4.5m, very In F5 10R (jnr) there was a marvellous victory for three young West Germans, Korf, Weis and Hofler. No one should ever say that there are no tacticians amongst the juniors. In D10R senior and junior, the Russians and impressive tower had been erected for the F5 Hungarians did very well. hot dog sales and workshop (for recharging batteries). Everything was taken care of. Fifteen military tents had been provided; one for each took gold and Stigler (A) was second and Bodarenko (USSR) third. In junior, Weis (D) gold, judges, also tents for administration, canteen, participating country together with a bus service from hotels and homes. The Minister, Mr Varga, officially opened the championships in a very solemn and majestic way, starting with a parade by the various teams, music, national anthems and hoisting of each national and the new Naviga flag. There were no serious problems regarding the registration but there must have been alittle teeth grinding, judging by the amount of pieces of sail cut and spread all over the area by the measurer’s decisions. Then came the first day, not one leaf was moving, no wind—Hungary had fallen asleep. A few heats were tried but these had to be abandoned in the calm airs. Next day we had a power cut and as all the batteries were connected for charging, half a day was lost. The wind did start and next day turned into a real storm reaching force 6 on the Beaufort scale, causing beaching of several yachts. Luckily the wind dropped to force 3-5 and the fleet system races carried on to everybodies’ satisfaction. Later some of the heats had to be shortened because the wind dropped, but the final results were reached in good time and conditions. The international judges, Messrs. Beck, Bathge, Méser, Schmidt, Franck and Sosztarics could only congratulate the competitors for their sporty and gentleman like behaviour. The organisers led by Mr Laslo Gara had arranged a beautiful layout and perfect organisation. A new control system for measuring radio-control frequencies was tried out and proved most efficient. DM and FM (vane and radio Marblehead) were the first to start in senior and junior. There was a In Experimental F5X (sen) Lupart (Swz) again Fahnler (A) silver and Lola (PL) bronze. In DX (sen) Stanek (CS), Nazarov (USSR) and where victorious. With the junior chev (BG) Neits two medals went to the Hungarians and Kroutchev (USSR) got silver. The closing ceremony was majestic and sol- emn, assisted next year. The necessary and time consuming task of maintaining and extending the organisation needed for the enjoyment of our sport and hobby will no doubt receive well deserved atten- tion and many ideas will encounter the usual battering at the various area AGMs and section conferences in the coming weeks. All the area AGMs are scheduled to be held on the same day, 26th October. In the north as usual Crows Nest Park, Dewsbury is the venue and accompanied | doubt not by the annual pre-meeting natter ses- sion and a traditional roast beef and yorkshire lunch. For those in the north who have not attended the pre-meeting get together take it from one born south of Watford that it is worth going early. The pint pots on the meeting table are possibly one of the factors that help along é meeting that is always lively and adds ar atmosphere to what otherwise could be a dry meeting. In the Midlands the meeting will be held at the Newtown Community Centre, Bir mingham and at both these meetings the busi ness starts at 2pm. The AGMs for the South anc Scottish areas take place as aforesaid on the same day but at the time of writing your corres pondent did not know where the venues woul¢ Results F5M Senior 1. Igor Halevski Russia 1. Thomas Fahnler Austria 1. Andras V6néczky Hungary 1. Gabor Kucsera Hungary 1. Helmut Lupart Switzerland 1. Harry Korff West Germany 1. Andras VOndczky Hungary 1. Serguei Khroutchev Russia 1. Helmut Lupart Switzerland 1. Jochen Weiss West Germany 1. Ladislav Stanek Czechoslovakia F5M Junior DM Senior DM Junior F5-10 Senior F5-10 Junior D10 Senior D10 Junior F5X Senior The Austrian Fahnler took first place in the junigrs. In F5 10R (sen) the advantage was taken by the Swiss Lupart, Jahan (Fr) was second and DX Junior 1. Ferenc Nagy 624 Burgomasters, kindness and happiness shown in the usual way by the Hungarian people. A magnificent banquet closed these successful championships. F5X Junior Budarenko (USSR) came third. Ministers, Bailiffs, Generals, and central and local authorities assisting and distributing the various medals — the winners also were presented with beautiful artistic pieces. Speeches, parades, national anthems, lowering of flags — nothing was forgotten and one must say that all this elapsed in a very friendly atmosphere with the double Hungarian and USSR victory in vane. In F5 there was a very tight battle between Jahan (Fr) World Champion, Lupart (Swz) and Nalevski (USSR) the final winner. by hopes will no doubt be kindled in the hearts of the boater over the coming winter months for DX Senior Hungary Report by Maurice Franck Translated by Willi Thuysbaert be and by this time clubs in both areas shoulc have been notified — so possible attenders con tact your club secretary. This month also sees the section conference: where you can air your views on that particula part of the sport that interests you. The hydro plane conference is on 5th October at the Moa House, Harpenden, same day also is the R\ multi-race conference at the Posthouse, Coven try. The straight running conference is at th Portland Hotel, Nottingham and the RC spee: steering and scale is at the Eurocrest, Coventry both the latter on the 12 October. So much for meetings for the general merr bership and a little bit for those interested i Executive Committee meetings. At a recent one July in York, the question of getting more info mation out to the membership was discusse< One of the points resolved was to try and disp' the thoughts propagated by some that this bod is some sort of secret conclave and it we decided that those interested who were n¢ elected members of the EC should be invite along to hear what goes on. Obviously becaus of the size of the room hired for these occasion only a small number of additional people can b Model Boat Duplex 575 Nats Cleethorpes Scale Northern Multi Elims Pilot Champs a Ai "sé Hove Sailing Rally An idyllic setting for model — Wobum Abbey, Bedfordshire and the second Duplex 575 National Championships which attracted 50 skippers. Those not in the picture were organising or photographing — pics by Ray Brigden. Duplex 575 2nd National Championships, Woburn Park, 27th July Earlier this year our Editor decided to put on a 575 regatta. He approached the administrators at Woburn Abbey and obtained permission to put on an event, the 575 Club were delighted with this stroke of genius and promptly slapped a National Title on the event, and for his efforts the Editor was awarded and lumbered with being OOD for the regatta. A grand total of 50 skippers arrived with their 575s and with a good wind with occasional gusts blowing across the 200 yard M shaped course, all was set for a good day’s sport. The fifty skippers were divided into five fleets and after three 15 minute races each, the top 12 skippers made up a 30 minute final to find the 1980 Champion. There are no hard and fast rules in 575 racing, you are required to round all buoys and not to take too much paint off the next boat. There are many of the regular 575 skippers though who would like to nick the paint work on Mike Kemp’s boat, but Mike’s superb tactics keep him too far in front of us for that; Mike won the 1979 Championships at the Coventry Club and most of the 575 open events since, but we had to wait until heat 5 before we could see what pressure Mike was to put on us. Graham Breeze from Newport, who won the Filey Festival event, set a cracking pace with a good win in heat 1 and B. Jennings, with a nicely turned-out model, did the same in heat 2. The sudden gusts of wind were making it hard on the newcomers, except for one skipper Barry Alcock from the newly formed Nantwich Club; Barry did well in his first heat riding out gusts nearing storm suit conditions to get second place, a first in his next and then a third to gain a place in the final. A good performance from a skipper who on his first outing at an open event a few months ago kept finding the bank in strong winds and was so frustrated he was seen to launch his yacht at 40 mph, five feet above the water, and heard to utter something like “XXXX stupid lump of plastic’. Heat five was watched with interest by the regulars with the Champion on the water for the first time. The wind had fallen off a touch and Mike came across the start line in the middle of the fleet, the boats ahead of him found the fresh wind early and built up a big lead. Mike then ran into trouble on his second lap, he lost the wind on the first buoy and after recovering missed the next completely, but managed to get fourth place. However, he made no mistakes in his next two races and crossed the line first on both occasions to make the final. Graham Breeze chalked up two more wins in heats 6 and 14. Mr Jennings had a fourth and another first. Harvey Middleton improved as the day went on, getting to the final with a 3, 2, 1 sequence of results. Another Nantwich Club member, Colin Brereton, sailed into the final with two good wins. Other skippers who qualified were Mr Bates 4, 5, 1 — Mr Stevenson 3, 2, 2— Mr Risdale 6, 2, 2— Mr Hudson 2, 3, 2— Mr Thomas 5, 3, 2— and Mr Wensley 5, 2, 2. The OOD had kept to a strict time table all through the day and with fair winds arrived at the final with time to spare —and after six hours of sailing all welcomed a 20 minute break before the final. Areal good blow greeted us for the start of the final, and on the gun Barry Alcock caught the fleet napping; timing his turn for the line superbly he was 20 yards across before the next yacht and he made the first buoy before most skippers were coming across the line. Barry sailed on faultlessly and built up a big lead, on the 10 minute mark he was two-thirds of a lap ahead, but Graham Breeze had got things sorted out and was sailing well, followed by Mike Kemp. Graham and Mike gained on Barry, but at 20 minutes Barry hit a buoy, at the same time Graham went wide on a turn and Mike slipped inside him and started to gain on Barry who again hit a buoy and while recovering saw Mike go sailing by with only three minutes left on the clock and keep 10 yards ahead of Barry so retaining his title, with Graham Breeze taking third position. The trophies were donated and presented by Duplex Directors, Harvey Middleton and October 1980 John Favell and with the entry fees the OOD purchased a super shield to be competed-for annually. With the 575 entries growing with each event, next year’s championships could well be a two-day event, but we won't let our OOD know about that until nearer the day. Ray Brigden Hove Model Sailing Ship Society Annual Rally, 6th July The weather was the controlling factor for the day. Mainly due to the weather forecast only 32 of the 40 odd pre-entries booked in. Actually the day dawned fair and the radio control was finished in reasonable weather. Lunch break brought a shower of rain, but it didn’t seem to deter those people who had come down to enjoy a sail. The remainder of the sailing was completed under a threatening sky, but the light wind stayed in the south and everyone enjoyed the sailing. Just after the presentation of the prizes the rains came with a vengeance. The only people who got wet were the members who cleared our equipment away. We were visited by Slim McDonald from Southern TV's ‘Afloat’ programme with a camera crew, who arrived early in the morning and stayed to the end. We enjoyed their visit and | hope that the sequences used present our hobby in the right light. We will see at the end of the year. The date of transmission will be known later. Results Radio Control Fore and Aft Rig Square Rig. Thames Barge Max Davey Charlie Doe Dave Hobden Val Heasman Hove London Hove Hove Norman Allen Milton Keynes District Challenge Cup meeting for 575s Twenty-five entries from all over the country converged on Willen Lake at Milton Keynes for the second 575 Regatta organised by the Milton Keynes Model Society. After several days of good, steady winds blowing off the launching shore the host club were looking forward to providing near ideal conditions. Curses, foiled again! Sunday morning came but forgot to bring the wind. Racing got under way with the first of three fleets on the water. The fleets had been sorted into groups according to the notoriety for performance and available frequencies. The intention was to use a recently published fleet system with promotion and relegation — two things squashed that idea. Firstly sailing was so slow that insufficient rounds could be sailed to allow a high flier in fleet C to reach the top. Secondly, frequency changing with 575s proves to be a problem. Two complete rounds of two 10-15 minute races for each fleet were run, followed by a final pair of races for the top 3 boats in each fleet: well there were 10 in the final because fleet C (with 9 boats) had two tying for 3rd place. After the finals there were two skippers, Keith Stevenson of Leicester and Mike Kemp of the home club tying for first place and two tying for 3rd place, namely Jean Stephens of High Wycombe and the aptly named Graham Breeze of Telford. It was suggested, by some wag who was partly responsible for all this 575 game, that the decider would be a pairs race out to the ‘big buoy’ and back. The big buoy is a mark used by the full size dinghies and is nearly aj mile away from the original course. From a standing start Keith’s boat pulled into a lead of several feet until Mike’s caught up and passed at about halfway out. From then on Mike pulled into a commanding lead, refusing to heed cries of ‘turn now’ around the buoy until absolutely sure of going behind it. Although Keith and Mike started well ahead of Jean and Graham it seemed likely, at one point, that they might be caught which would have made the joint OOD Albert Cox’s job difficult, especially after shouts of ‘if we catch them do we win?’ The weather conditions proved to be one of the main talking points of the day. Firstly a moderate breeze that caused no ripples — seeing 575s sail quite fast on a mirror like water 627
